Things To Do In San Diego: September 22

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There's a whole lot of bellyaching about various ways that the music industry is failing. Ticket sales are down, concert prices are up, and when people stopped hearing new music on the radio, they sought other places where they could find new music, leaving fans liking niche bands. I would argue that small and mid-size bands are still doing well, but there aren't many superstars. Muse is a band that seeks to change that. The band from England has worked steadily over the years, building a fan base and quietly exploding into the huge band that they are today, that not only can fill an arena, but that deserves to fill an arena. They know how to engage their audience with stage drama and flair, and their mixed-genre music has a mass appeal.

If you're not into Muse, you can check out the rock of The Jim Jones Revue at the Casbah, the electronic project of members of the String Cheese Incident, EOTO, up at the Belly Up, or Mexican alt-rockers Elefante at the House of Blues, who had more than a few songs that I consistently put on breakup mix tapes a few years back.